Discussions & Submissions Agreement

We feel silly spelling out rules to govern your behavior while on this website. But since we must, let’s boil it down to language we all can understand: Use the manners your mother taught you.

Need more explanation? OK, we’ll spell it out:

* No profanity, obscenity or graphic sexual language. That also applies to the use of asterisks, abbreviations or other symbols to camouflage foul language.

* Do not use threatening language or talk of violence.

* No racial, gender or sexual-orientation name-calling.

* Respect the opinions of others, even if you disagree.

* Do not post spam or advertising of any kind. We will report you to your affiliate and move to confiscate your earnings.

* Do not call out people by name and/or make defamatory and slanderous statements.

* Do not violate other people’s privacy.

* Stay on topic. Comments that bear no relation to the story may be deleted.

* Don’t post pictures with your comments.

We encourage robust discussion, but we also require civility. Commenters who repeatedly violate these rules may be blocked from further use.

Finally, we want our readers to help us police this site. Each comments comes with a “Report Abuse” button. Use it if you suspect a comment has violated our policy. Remember, a comment is not abusive simply because you dislike it.

SUBMISSIONS AGREEMENT

Qcitymetro welcomes user-submitted content, including articles, blogs, columns, photos, etc. We also encourage users to participate freely, where appropriate, in online discussions. In order to keep our interactive forums enjoyable for all, we ask that you follow the rules outlined below.

By submitting content or engaging in discussion forums, you agree to the following:

1. The content you submit will not:

infringe upon or violate the copyrights, trademarks or intellectual property rights of others

2. You agree to be legally responsible for the content you submit. You will indemnify Qcitymetro and its parent, GlennOaks Media LLC, from and against losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting from any claim brought by any third party relating to content you post.

3. When you submit content to Qcitymetro, you grant to Qcitymetro and its parent, GlennOaks Media, a nonexclusive, royalty-free and perpetual license to use, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publish or sell such content, in whole or in part, in any medium known or later developed, for any purpose, including commercial purposes, without payment to you, your dependents or heirs. You also waive any claim that any use of such content violates any of your rights, including privacy rights.

4. You have obtained legal permission to submit any third-party content, including videos and photos, that contain the images, voices or property of others. If there are any individuals under the age of 18 in any photos, video, or other content that you submit, you will obtain the permission of each such individual's parent or legal guardian prior to submitting the content.

5. You agree that wemay remove content that we deem inappropriate for any reason without consent. We further reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to revoke a user's privilege to post content to our site.

6. You certify that you are at least 13 years of age. If you are under the age of 13, please do not submit content to us. If you are under the age of 18 but at least 13 years of age, you may submit content only with the permission of, and under the supervision of, a parent or legal guardian. If you are a parent or legal guardian agreeing to these rules for the benefit of an individual between the ages of 13 and 18, please be advised that you are fully responsible for his or her submissions and any legal liability that he or she may incur.

Qcitymetro is an independent online news source based in Charlotte, N.C. Our mission is to be the leading source of news, opinion and other information relevant to the region's thriving African American community.